Rafael Benítez defended Fernando Torres after the £50 million signing again
missed chances as Chelsea struggled past Sparta Prague to reach the last 16
of the Europa League. A stoppage-time equaliser from Eden Hazard booked
Chelsea’s passage and spared the Spanish striker, who missed four good
chances to settle the tie.

Off target: Fernando Torres created much against Sparta Prague but finished the match empty-handedPhoto: PA

Benítez rejected criticism of the striker, who has scored once in his past 14 games, and said that he had worked hard for the team. “We could be talking about Fernando not ­scoring goals, and he had four chances. But he had four chances. Let’s turn it into a positive,” Benítez said.

“I’ve seen him in games not having these chances because he’s not in the right position. Today the goalkeeper stopped him and he missed some, but he did a good job for the team, was in the right position. It wasn’t the situation where the striker disappeared. He was in the right place at the right time. Are we disappointed he didn’t score? Yes, we are. But he was still giving his all to the team.

“I’m sure that next time he will take one or two of his chances and we will have something else to talk about in the press conference. He didn’t play badly tonight. If he continues working like today and playing like he did today, he will score goals ”

John Terry admitted to frustration at Chelsea’s performance, but praised Hazard for the 18-yard drive that settled the tie in the 93rd minute. “It was disappointing, the way we started, but we’re delighted to go through,” he said. “We left it as late as we could as sometimes that’s the best way. It wasn’t our best performance but we’re in the next round and we’re happy with that.

“It was a great goal from Eden. The manager’s rested a couple and to have the likes of Eden on the bench is great. When he came on he showed great sharpness. But they had two counter-attacks in the last five ­minutes and that’s not good at all. We’re disappointed with that. It’s not the best but we’re through.

“The first 80 minutes, nothing went for us. We had a lot of attempts on goal but it didn’t go for us. But the persistence from the lads was fantastic. We’re still very disappointed to be out of the Champions League and watching that on Tuesday and Wednesday nights is frustrating but this is a good competition and we’re in it to win it.”